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Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Emeralds for May: Sweden

Sofia of Sweden in her emerald tiara

If there's one thing a royal bride need, it's a tiara. And like many a royal bride before her in the last twenty years or so, Sofia had none to call her own. So she got one as a gift instead. That wasn't where the party stopped. Sofia's wedding tiara was topped with emeralds meaning Sweden finally got a modern green gem of a diadem to call its own. Here are Emeralds for May, Swedish style.

The diamond and emerald creation was a present from her new parents in law, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. And given Silvia's creativity with the Swedish jewel collection in her time as queen consort, it's probably not wide of the mark to guess she was thrilled that emeralds were making their diadem debut in her family's royal jewellery box.

It's an unusual and rather modern looking piece and the most striking thing about it is the use of emeralds. The green stones were a surprise for this bridal choice and instantly became its most famous part.

The oval shaped emeralds sit on top of diamonds arranged in sparkling shapes. There's another row of smaller diamonds beneath them and diamond points between the emeralds.But even with all those diamonds, this diadem is all about the emeralds.

Sofia has worn it several times since including at the Nobel Prize celebrations last December. But it's her wedding appearance that remains the most famous so far. The most modern of Europe's royal emerald tiaras really made its mark thanks to a modern princess who does things her own way.